My version on chicken soup

Chicken soup is something that most people like, including myself. It is one of those comforting foods to spoon into your mouth whilst you can hear the heavy rain happening outside. It makes me feel like a kid again, where there is no harm, because chicken soup makes everything safe again. It is like a warm blanket that snuggles into you in every right place.

So what makes my chicken soup a little different? I like to add fish sauce to it. Simple as that. I know some may not like the idea of it but give it a go, at least just once ;-)

Here we go...

I go get myself a nice massive pot and place 3 chicken carcasses into it, about 15 peppercorns and 2 dried bay leaves. Then place it onto the stove and pour in enough water to sit above the carcasses. On a low heat i then bring it to a soft boil, covered, and let it do it's thing for about 3 hours. Now you have some spare killing time to pick some roses for your mother inlaw, or perhaps not.



...boiling away

After 3 hours you'll begin to see that some of the water has absorbed and fat from the carcasses has risen to the top


...they say fat is flavor

Take another big pot or a large bowl and place a fine sieve inside. Be careful now and pour the chicken stock into the sieve. When i do this the carcasses seam to stay in it's cooking pot which prevents a big splash from happening. Lift the sieve and throw out all the impurities. What you should have left is this...



Discard the carcasses and all bits left behind in the cooking pot and wash the pot thoroughly

As the stock cools in the large bowl i like to now prepare my other ingredients for the soup



Carrots and zucchini... i also chopped up some onion but didn't take a photo of it



Creamed corn and corn kernels. Bit of a blurry shot.



Contents inside the can's..i find that ALDI don't skim and fill right to the top


Some roasted chicken which i bought from the shops yesterday which i chopped up

Now once everything has been chopped and cans opened pop the pot back onto the stove and pour back in your stock. Add onions, carrots and zucchini and bring to a boil. Let boil for 10 minutes then add your creamed corn and corn kernels.


Add a clove of bruised garlic

Now time for the secret ingredient...



Don't be too shy with this ;-) I like to use the Tiparos brand





Some Vegeta for extra flavor

I also added some soup pasta and then gently stirred through some eggs and cayenne pepper

Here is what it looks like served up




This soup is great to freeze and you get many portions from this recipe
You can add some sesame oil before eating if you like

Ingredients:

3 chicken carcasses
water
15 pepper corns
2 dried bay leaves
2 large onions diced
1 large carrot diced
3 small zucchini diced
1 clove of garlic bruised
1 tin corn kernels
2 tins creamed corn
2 cups chopped up cooked chicken
1/4c fish sauce
4-5 tsps vegeta seasoning
1/2c soup pasta
4 eggs
cayenne pepper to taste
sesame oil *optional

Add carcasses to a large pot
Add enough water to cover the carcasses
Add 15 peppercorns and 2 dried bay leaves
Bring to a slow gentle boil for 3 hours
After 3 hours place a small hole sieve into a large bowl or pot and strain stock and throw out impurities in sieve
Discard carcasses and wash the pot you cooked the stock in
Add the stock back to the pot and bring to a boil
Add onions, carrot and zucchini and let simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes
Add corn kernels and creamed corn, cook for 5 mins
Add diced chicken, garlic, fish sauce, vegeta and soup pasta and simmer for another 7 minutes
Turn heat down to lowest point and crack in the eggs gently stir eggs into soup to slightly combine
Add cayenne pepper and stir
Turn off heat and let soup sit for 10 minutes before eating
Serve and drizzle some sesame oil on top if desired.

Serves 10